I've experienced several education systems including higher education both in the US and Australia. There is not much value placed on education here to begin with and its evident from the fact that a tradesman who drops out of secondary school can make more money than a college graduate can and over time. Australia is far from being a knowledge driven society whose key export should be knowledge and derived expertise given that it’s an OECD nation. I’ve travelled in enough taxis driven by PhDs and MBA graduates to realize there is some sort of problem here. These people can’t advance in their careers or get a job simply because they didn’t attend the right PRIVATE boys or girls grammar school as a child! You want to talk about handicapping people from early childhood in a developed country – well at least you guys take much better care of the retarded compared to the USA, kudos.

Jane Caro:

What a breath of fresh air - your well researched and deeply intimidating article-of-faith deserves the highest applause. Not before time. Read in conjunction with the Report on Commonwealth Funding for Schools ( Senate Committee Inquiry 02-04 ) should raise heckles and alarm bells at the duplicity and corruptness of Aust Govt's of all persuasions.

A can of worms expose' relating to the SES model; pork-barrelling of Private Institutions and the them-an-us supercilious attitude. Demeaning our intelligence.

All concerned Australian's should be affronted by the magnitude of Taxpayers dollare being squandered and the covet ' cover-up ' and obfuscation perpetuated by Oz elitist - biggest and best Academic Institutions.

" The stupid country " is a mild commentary. The lexicon used in polite circles should resonate on every Parent - particularly disadvantaged middle class, Indigenous, under-privileged, disabled,impaired, special needs, and disfranchised families enrolled in ' free ' Government State schools.

Dr Barry McGaw, director of Education for OECD :" Australian Schools system as a whole is one of the most discriminatory in the developed world in terms of distance between the schooling outcomes for students from high socio-economic backgrounds on one hand, and those from lowest, on the other ".

Blatant non-equitable disparities include Govt funding tipped in favour of private schools with their 30% of total school students receiving 70% of Commonwealth Funding. Additional top-ups, recurring / emergency funding, and special grants not based on merit. Historically, uder the Hawke Keating Governments, funding increased fourfold. Petty-fogger, prime ministerial aspirant Kevin Rudd has pledged more-of-the-same, unilateral support !

The 2007 Budget announcement's in the Education sector highlighted a comprehensive investment of $5 B in HEEF; providing a perpetual source of funding for Capitol works and Research facilities, and promising further contributions out of future surpluses ? $ 843 M to improve the quality of Teachers and education foa ALL Aust children.$ 700 M to boost funding ( presumably, to selective recipients and non-government schools ? )

So what is new ?

Since 1997, the New School Policy and ground breaking Karmel Report which has been the corner-stone

continued..

of our Eduction system for over 40 years, and incidently honourably served the Nation's requirements, has been unceremoniously dumped !

Surreptious private schools have deliberately fostered growth and expansion. Most have cooked-the-books, and encouraged at the highest levels, manipulation of the system, with little transparency or accountability. Unregulated expansion on facilities,buildings and campuses. Restrictive enrolments, inconsistency and discriminatory practices. False and misleading reporting.

In turn, we have Financial scandals, bankruptcies, closures, prosecutions of Principals and Business management. Poor regulation and importantly a ' hands-off ' application aimed at the rest of Oz vox populi. The elitist, priveleged them-an-us syndrome. Divisive ? Depends on which side of the track you come from. Good read : Jane Nicholls " Commonwealth Funding to Private Schools 1996-2000. See 'Taylor's College scandal ".

The Bulletin recently ran a thought provoking article, questioning Year 12 examinations. Why it is no longer conducive to have all students, Oz wide, sit for Public exams under strict supervision, and marked appropriately ? The inference being some prestigious Grammar Colleges are so statistically oriented, the results at best spurious. Public students given pathetically poor outcomes.

Govt's arbitrary assistance to high-fee schools has not resulted in lower fees. Quite the opposite. It has inadvertently increased their capacity to compete with other similar schools in the area, especially those offering a gamut of sporting / academic facilities. Attractive salaries, perks and ex gratia emoluments for talented Principals and businesss management. E.g. Bond University.

Have we reached a water-shed ?

Is the system loaded to favour the cognoscenti and affluencza ? Sadly, it has become the norm, and the zeitgeist quest for material gain. Although we acknowlege the unfairness and appalling one-sided double standards, we dubiously, and in all sobriety wish it upon our off-springs. That said, it behoves a visionary ethicist of Jane Caro's calibre to NOT only pay lip service, whistle blowing the Intelligentsia, and rocking the boat, but to defiantly ' maintain her rage '?

It's unlikely, a revisit 20 years hence, will see much change in the status quo.

Ciao

petal returns from the real world into cyberspace to post two significant links:

http://www.adogs.info/pr216.htm

and

http://www.adogs.info/pr215.htm

Public Schools are becoming a forgotten matter in this society, but in Sydney the selective schools are dominanting the academic aspects. selective schools are the considered to be half government funded and the other half privately. Going to a Catholic school myself, i often had to pay for everything i use, and had little privileges growing up. Public schools have it lucky in my opinion.

Chindia your Catholic school received 70% of its funding from the federal government. Your school probably got more federal government funding than the NSW government paid per student at the local high school. Your Catholic school can never have the amount of federal funding reduced whereas the local government school's funding changes from year to year depending on student numbers. Your Catholic school didn't have to accept every student under 15 who asked for entry, and some children are thugs, menaces etc and your school didn't have to find a way of teaching students whose parents couldn't or wouldn't pay for books excursions etc

Stop bleating and be thankful you weren't taught in a class where students and their teachers fear for their physical safety when loony goes off his meds.